THE REIGN OF SPAIN - Barcelona, Pamplona, Madrid, Spain Aug 2016

THE REIGN OF SPAIN

Barcelona, Pamplona, Madrid, Spain Aug. 2016

Hanging with Antoni

One of the things we like best about European travel is how easy it is to go from city to city by rail (country to country, for that matter). 
So in only a little over six hours we left Paris for a return trip to Barcelona, a city we've really enjoyed in the past. 

Parque Guell

Our Airbnb apartment for the week was a bit on the basic side (thin mattresses, barely functional kitchen) but had great access to the Metro, making it easy to go nearly anywhere in the city. Walking, however, still remains a favorite mode of travel. 

You can't be in Barcelona without coming across something related to Antoni Gaudi, an architect who was a practitioner of Catalan Modernism. His iconic work is found all over the city. 

Spectacular night performance

Mike finally made it inside Sagrada Familia basilica (Eileen, with baser sensibilities, referred to it as "architectural garbage soup") which remains under construction and will be until at least 2026. It's awe-inspiring in its detail and scale, according to Mike, at least.

Life's a beach there

No matter how many times we visit Parque Guell it remains one of our favorite parks in the world. The park takes on an element of fantasy, with distinctive buildings, sculptures, and animals with intricate and colorful tilework. 

After many years of Mike visiting Barcelona in winter for the Mobile World Congress, it was nice to be able to enjoy the beaches on the Mediterranean for a change. It was an easy train ride to Badalona. 

Between two worlds

Though it's always nice to hang in the sun, this beach was only ok. It was still interesting hanging in a place frequented by locals.

The running of Eileen

We then took the train to Pamplona only a few weeks after the encierro (running of the bulls). It was a quiet few days and we enjoyed having some down time, well aware that it would have been a very different experience had we arrive but weeks earlier.

We saw hints of the strong undercurrent of discontent in both Catalan and Basque regions. They do not consider themselves Spanish or French and are fiercely proud of their heritage. Most tourists, however, remain blissfully unaware of the struggles these Spanish residents are going through.

Santander architecture

Don't cross either of them

Speaking of Spanish, one of our goals was to practice the language since it had been quite a while since our South American trip. However, the Spanish we heard spoken (Catalan and Basque) was not easily understood. Oh well, language practice fail.  

A train ride away was Santander. It's a bit unknown to tourists and popular with families from Madrid and Great Britain, for some reason. The beach had beautiful views and provided ample relaxation, not to mention great people watching.

Carlos, World Traveler

We ended our trip--and nine months away from the U.S.--in Madrid. We didn't have time to visit any of the incredible museums, but did enjoy the city's energy.

There, in Madrid, we had yet another random travel encounter  when Eileen's former Valley Teen Leadership graduate Carlos Reyes happened to be there. 

We had a fun lunch and checked out a local market together. His job takes him all over the world and we fully expect to cross paths again. Travel provides amazing opportunities for past lives to come together.